March 6, 2015
Contact: Jill Moberley, Public Information Officer
For Immediate Release

Dunbar Early College High School senior Ja’Laquan Mitchell has made DPS history, as the first student to earn prestigious honors both as a Coca-Cola Scholar winner and a Gates Millennium Scholars finalist.

Mitchell was notified earlier this week that he is one of 150 in the nation to be selected for the 2014-2015 class of Coca-Cola Scholars. The award comes with a $20,000 college scholarship. He is the first DPS student since 2008 to win the Coca-Cola Scholar designation, and the third in district history; he also is the first Dunbar student to achieve this award.

“I didn’t think I would win at all, because of the number of entries they receive,” Mitchell said. “But when I got the email (stating he had won), I felt really great.

“People who calculate the odds don’t realize how much desire and hard work can change the equation,” he continued.

Mitchell, son of Dalisa Mitchell and the Class of 2015 valedictorian at Dunbar, carries a 4.0 grade point average, and has earned 26 college credits through the school’s dual college enrollment program. Last year, he became part of the redesigned school’s inaugural class eligible to take courses at both high school and college levels, providing credit for both. Starting with online classes at Sinclair last year, Mitchell was able to complete courses at both Sinclair and the University of Dayton this school year. When he graduates from Dunbar in May, he will have 26 college credits.

Being part of Dunbar Early College High School’s dual enrollment program has given Mitchell confidence in his abilities to succeed in the next stage of his education. He is the first in his family to go to college, and is waiting to hear from all eight Ivy League colleges that he applied to about acceptance. His other choices include The Ohio State University and Howard University.

He plans to major in medicine with a focus in anesthesiology, and the career choice is personal.

“My grandma, she had cancer, and she had to get her leg amputated,” Mitchell said. “When I went to see her and she was in pain, I just wished I could make the pain go away. Becoming an anesthesiologist touches on that.”

As he celebrates the Coca-Cola Scholar win with his family (including three brothers and one sister), Mitchell waits to hear if he will be named a Gates Scholar, the first for Dayton Public Schools since 2011.

Now in its 16th year, the Gates Millennium Scholar program was established by Bill and Melinda Gates to provide outstanding minority students with the financial backing to complete an undergraduate college education as well as attaining advanced degrees. Each year, 1,000 high school seniors nationwide win full college tuition, covering undergraduate and graduate studies.

As he finishes his high school and early college studies, Mitchell juggles other activities — he volunteers as a mentor with Goodwill and Dunbar, helps at Miami Valley and Good Samaritan hospitals, and participated in Dunbar’s Quiz Bowl team. His family is excited about the future, and his siblings look up to his accomplishments.

“Going to college opens doors of opportunities for me, because I’ll have an advantage, and going to college will give me opportunities like no other,” he said.

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